(6) Start engine and let idle just long enough to
circulate power steering fluid through the analyzer
and hoses. Shut off engine.
(7) Check power steering fluid level and add fluid
as necessary. Start engine again and let idle until the
air is out of the fluid.
(8) Gauge should read below 300 psi (2068 kPa). If
above, inspect the hoses for restrictions and repair as
necessary. The initial pressure should be in the range
of 100-275 psi (689-1896 kPa) depending on fluid
temperature. The flow meter should read above 1.5
GPM.
CAUTION: The following test procedure involves
testing maximum pump pressure output and flow
control valve operation. Do not leave valve closed
for more than four seconds as the pump could be
damaged.
NOTE: Power steering pump maximum pressure for
2.4L engines is 1,200 ± 1,350 psi (8,274 ± 9,308
kPa). Power steering pump maximum pressure for
all other engines is 1,400 ± 1,500 psi (9,653 ± 10,342
kPa).
(9) Close analyzer valve fully three times and
record highest pressure indicated each time. All three
readings must be within specifications. If any of the
three power steering pump pressures are above orbelow specifications, replace pump. (Refer to 19 -
STEERING/PUMP - REMOVAL)
CAUTION: Do not force the steering to operate
against the stops for more than 4 seconds at a time
because pump damage can result.
(10) Once the pump has been verified as working
correctly, completely open the valve on the Power
Steering Analyzer. Turn the steering wheel to the
extreme left until the stop in the steering gear is
met. Hold it there for 2±4 seconds, then release it.
Now turn the steering wheel to the right until the
right stop is met. Hold it there for 2±4 seconds, then
release it. Record the stabilized pressure at each
position. Compare the recorded readings to the spec-
ifications. If the output pressures are not within 100
psi (689 kPa) of one another against either stop or
are below specifications, the steering gear is leaking
internally and must be replaced. (Refer to 19 -
STEERING/GEAR - REMOVAL)
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING - STEERING
SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS CHARTS
NOTE: There are three diagnosis charts following
that cover POWER STEERING NOISE, STEERING
WHEEL FEEL, and POWER STEERING FLUID.
POWER STEERING NOISE
CONDITION POSSIBLE CAUSES CORRECTION
OBJECTIONABLE HISS
OR WHISTLE*1. Damaged or mispositioned
steering column shaft/coupling dash
panel seal.1. Reposition or replace steering
column shaft/coupling dash panel seal.
2. Noisy valve in power steering
gear.2. Replace power steering gear.
3. Mis-routed power steering hose. 3. Check routing of power steering
hoses. Ensure hoses do not come in
unwanted contact with other
components and objects.
RATTLE OR EXCESSIVE
CLUNK**1. Power steering gear loose on front
suspension crossmember.1. Inspect power steering gear
mounting bolts. Replace as necessary.
Tighten to the specified torque.
2. Front suspension crossmember
mounting fasteners loose at frame.2. Tighten the front suspension
crossmember mounting fasteners to the
specified torque.
3. Loose tie rod (outer or inner). 3. Check tie rod pivot points for wear.
Replace worn/loose parts as required.
RSSTEERING19-3
STEERING (Continued)
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CONDITION POSSIBLE CAUSES CORRECTION
4. Loose lower control arm mounting
bolts at front suspension
crossmember.4. Tighten control arm mounting bolts to
the specified torques.
5. Lower control arm pivot bushing
worn.5. Replace lower control arm pivot
bushing.
6. Loose strut assembly mounting
fasteners at tower or knuckle.6. Tighten strut assembly fasteners to
the specified torque.
7. Power steering fluid hose touching
the body of the vehicle.7. Adjust hose to proper position by
loosening, repositioning, and tightening
attachments to specified torque. Do not
bend tubing.
8. Internal power steering gear
noise.8. Replace power steering gear.
9. Damaged front suspension
crossmember.9. Replace front suspension
crossmember.
10. Stabilizer bar link ball joints
worn.10. Replace stabilizer bar link.
11. Lug nuts loose. 11. Tighten lug nuts to specifications.
12. Excessive Wheel bearing
free-play.12. Verify correct driveshaft hub nut
torque. Replace bearing if torque is
okay.
POPPING NOISE 1. Worn outer tie rod. 1. Check ball joint for free-play;
Replace outer tie rod.
2. Loose inner tie rod. 2. Replace power steering gear.
CHIRP OR SQUEAL
(POWER STEERING
PUMP)1. Loose power steering pump drive
belt.1. Check and adjust power steering
pump drive belt to specifications or
replace automatic tensioner where
applicable. Replace belt if worn or
glazed.
2. Malfuctioning belt auto-tensioner 2. Replace belt auto-tensioner.
WHINE, GROWL, MOAN
OR GROAN (POWER
STEERING PUMP)***1. Low fluid level. 1. Fill power steering fluid reservoir to
proper level and check for leaks (make
sure all air is bled from the system
fluid).
2. Power steering hose touching
vehicle body or frame.2. Adjust hose to proper position by
loosening, repositioning, and tightening
fitting to specified torque. Do not bend
tubing. Replace hose if damaged.
3. Extreme wear of power steering
pump internal components.3. Replace power steering pump and
flush system as necessary.
4. Extremely low ambient
temperature.4. Some noise can be expected, but will
go away as vehicle warms. Replace
pump if noise is excessive.
SUCKING AIR SOUND 1. Loose clamp on power steering
fluid return hose.1. Tighten or replace hose clamp.
2. Missing O-Ring on power steering
hose connection.2. Inspect connection and replace
O-Ring as required.
19 - 4 STEERINGRS
STEERING (Continued)
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WARNING: THE AIR BAG SYSTEM IS A SENSITIVE,
COMPLEX ELECTRO-MECHANICAL UNIT. BEFORE
ATTEMPTING TO DIAGNOSE, REMOVE OR INSTALL
THE AIR BAG SYSTEM COMPONENTS YOU MUST
FIRST DISCONNECT AND ISOLATE THE BATTERY
NEGATIVE (GROUND) CABLE. THEN WAIT TWO
MINUTES FOR THE SYSTEM CAPACITOR TO DIS-
CHARGE. FAILURE TO DO SO COULD RESULT IN
ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG AND
POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY. THE FASTENERS,
SCREWS, AND BOLTS, ORIGINALLY USED FOR
THE AIR BAG COMPONENTS, HAVE SPECIAL
COATINGS AND ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED
FOR THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. THEY MUST NEVER
BE REPLACED WITH ANY SUBSTITUTES. ANYTIME
A NEW FASTENER IS NEEDED, REPLACE WITH
THE CORRECT FASTENERS PROVIDED IN THE
SERVICE PACKAGE OR FASTENERS LISTED IN
THE PARTS BOOKS.
WARNING: SAFETY GOGGLES SHOULD BE WORN
AT ALL TIMES WHEN WORKING ON STEERING
COLUMNS.
CAUTION: Disconnect negative (ground) cable from
the battery before servicing any column compo-
nent.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to remove the pivot pins
to disassemble the tilting mechanism. Damage will
occur.
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING - STEERING
COLUMN
For diagnosis of conditions relating to the steering
column (Refer to 19 - STEERING - DIAGNOSIS ANDTESTING) and (Refer to 19 - STEERING - DIAGNO-
SIS AND TESTING).
REMOVAL
NOTE: Before proceeding, (Refer to 19 - STEERING/
COLUMN - WARNING).
(1) Make sure the front wheels of the vehicle are
in the STRAIGHT AHEAD position before beginning
the column removal procedure.
(2) Disconnect negative (ground) cable from the
battery and isolate cable from battery terminal.
(3) Remove the lower shroud (Refer to 19 -
STEERING/COLUMN/LOWER SHROUD - REMOV-
AL).
(4) Remove the traction off switch.
(5) Remove the upper shroud.
(6) Remove the cluster trim bezel (Refer to 23 -
BODY/INSTRUMENT PANEL/CLUSTER BEZEL -
REMOVAL).
(7) Remove the knee blocker (Refer to 23 - BODY/
INSTRUMENT PANEL/STEERING COLUMN
OPENING COVER - REMOVAL).
(8) Remove the parking brake handle link.
(9) Remove the knee blocker reinforcement (Refer
to 23 - BODY/INSTRUMENT PANEL/KNEE
BLOCKER - REMOVAL).
(10) Remove the airbag (Refer to 8 - ELECTRI-
CAL/RESTRAINTS/DRIVER AIRBAG - REMOVAL).
(11) Remove the steering wheel retaining nut.
(12) Remove the vibration damper weight.
(13) Remove the steering wheel (Refer to 19 -
STEERING/COLUMN/STEERING WHEEL -
REMOVAL). (Fig. 3)
(14) Disconnect the wiring harness connectors
from the clockspring, multi-function switch, halo
lamp, SKIM module, ignition switch and BTSI sole-
noid.
1 - CLOCKSPRING WIRING
2 - STEERING WHEEL
3 - UPPER SHROUD
4 - FIXED SHROUD
5 - SCREW
6 - STEERING COLUMN MOUNTING PLATE
7 - NUT
8 - DASH PANEL STEERING COLUMN MOUNTING BRACKET
9 - STUDS (4)
10 - STEERING COLUMN LOCKING PIN
11 - NUT/WASHER ASSEMBLY
12 - STEERING COLUMN ASSEMBLY
13 - LOWER SHROUD
14 - SCREWS
15 - STEERING WHEEL RETAINING NUT16 - STEERING WHEEL DAMPER
17 - CLOCKSPRING
18 - SCREW
19 - MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH
20 - PINCH BOLT
21 - STEERING COLUMN COUPLER
22 - PINCH BOLT RETAINING PIN
23 - DASH PANEL
24 - SILENCER SHELL
25 - INTERMEDIATE SHAFT SHIELD AND SEAL
26 - INTERMEDIATE SHAFT
27 - ROLL PIN
28 - POWER STEERING GEAR
29 - FRONT SUSPENSION CRADLE/CROSSMEMBER
19 - 12 COLUMNRS
COLUMN (Continued)
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The PCM sends a 5 volt bias to the oxygen sensor
every 1.6 seconds. The PCM keeps it biased for 35
ms each time. As the sensor cools down, the resis-
tance increases and the PCM reads the increase in
voltage. Once voltage has increased to a predeter-
mined amount, higher than when the test started,
the oxygen sensor is cool enough to test heater oper-
ation.
When the oxygen sensor is cool enough, the PCM
energizes the ASD relay. Voltage to the O2 sensor
begins to increase the temperature. As the sensor
temperature increases, the internal resistance
decreases. The PCM continues biasing the 5 volt sig-
nal to the sensor. Each time the signal is biased, the
PCM reads a voltage decrease. When the PCM
detects a voltage decrease of a predetermined value
for several biased pulses, the test passes.
The heater elements are tested each time the
engine is turned OFF if all the enabling conditions
are met. If the monitor fails, the PCM stores a
maturing fault and a Freeze Frame is entered. If two
consecutive tests fail, a DTC is stored. Because the
ignition is OFF, the MIL is illuminated at the begin-
ning of the next key cycle.
Enabling ConditionsÐThe following conditions
must be met for the PCM to run the oxygen sensor
heater test:
²Engine run time of at least 3 minutes
²Engine run time at a predetermind speed and
throttle opening.
²Key OFF power down
²Battery voltage of at least 10 volts
²Sufficient Oxygen Sensor cool down
Pending ConditionsÐThere are not conditions or
situations that prompt conflict or suspension of test-
ing. The oxygen sensor heater test is not run pending
resolution of MIL illumination due to oxygen sensor
failure.
SuspendÐThere are no conditions which exist for
suspending the Heater Monitor.
CATALYST MONITOR
To comply with clean air regulations, vehicles are
equipped with catalytic converters. These converters
reduce the emission of hydrocarbons, oxides of nitro-
gen and carbon monoxide.
Normal vehicle miles or engine misfire can cause a
catalyst to decay. A meltdown of the ceramic core can
cause a reduction of the exhaust passage. This can
increase vehicle emissions and deteriorate engine
performance, driveability and fuel economy.
The catalyst monitor uses dual oxygen sensors
(O2S's) to monitor the efficiency of the converter. The
dual O2S strategy is based on the fact that as a cat-
alyst deteriorates, its oxygen storage capacity and its
efficiency are both reduced. By monitoring the oxy-gen storage capacity of a catalyst, its efficiency can
be indirectly calculated. The upstream O2S is used to
detect the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas
before the gas enters the catalytic converter. The
PCM calculates the A/F mixture from the output of
the O2S. A low voltage indicates high oxygen content
(lean mixture). A high voltage indicates a low content
of oxygen (rich mixture).
When the upstream O2S detects a lean condition,
there is an abundance of oxygen in the exhaust gas.
A functioning converter would store this oxygen so it
can use it for the oxidation of HC and CO. As the
converter absorbs the oxygen, there will be a lack of
oxygen downstream of the converter. The output of
the downstream O2S will indicate limited activity in
this condition.
As the converter loses the ability to store oxygen,
the condition can be detected from the behavior of
the downstream O2S. When the efficiency drops, no
chemical reaction takes place. This means the con-
centration of oxygen will be the same downstream as
upstream. The output voltage of the downstream
O2S copies the voltage of the upstream sensor. The
only difference is a time lag (seen by the PCM)
between the switching of the O2S's.
To monitor the system, the number of lean-to-rich
switches of upstream and downstream O2S's is
counted. The ratio of downstream switches to
upstream switches is used to determine whether the
catalyst is operating properly. An effective catalyst
will have fewer downstream switches than it has
upstream switches i.e., a ratio closer to zero. For a
totally ineffective catalyst, this ratio will be one-to-
one, indicating that no oxidation occurs in the device.
The system must be monitored so that when cata-
lyst efficiency deteriorates and exhaust emissions
increase to over the legal limit, the MIL (check
engine lamp) will be illuminated.
Monitor OperationÐTo monitor catalyst effi-
ciency, the PCM expands the rich and lean switch
points of the heated oxygen sensor. With extended
switch points, the air/fuel mixture runs richer and
leaner to overburden the catalytic converter. Once
the test is started, the air/fuel mixture runs rich and
lean and the O2 switches are counted. A switch is
counted when an oxygen sensor signal goes from
below the lean threshold to above the rich threshold.
The number of Rear O2 sensor switches is divided by
the number of Front O2 sensor switches to determine
the switching ratio.
The test runs for 20 seconds. As catalyst efficiency
deteriorated over the life of the vehicle, the switch
rate at the downstream sensor approaches that of the
upstream sensor. If at any point during the test
period the switch ratio reaches a predetermined
value, a counter is incremented by one. The monitor
25 - 4 EMISSIONS CONTROLRS
EMISSIONS CONTROL (Continued)
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